The Boca Ballet Theatre recently gave several area performances of the classical ballet "Giselle. " About 30 students enrolled in the theater's five-week summer program danced on the University Stage at Florida Atlantic University with Julie Kent and Marcelo Gomes, visiting international stars from the American Ballet Theatre in New York City. "It was actually really surreal," Aubrey Heathcott, 17, said of the experience. "I'm so fortunate to have this opportunity to dance with them.

Any ballet company worth its rosin is compelled to mount Giselle. For some regional companies, it signifies a transition to major league status. But lacking depth of technique, musicality, attention to dramatic detail and sheer number of bodies, most fail. The Houston Ballet, on the other hand, rises to the challenge with a freshness and energy often missing from productions staged by so-called world-class companies. The British-bred company director Ben Stevenson has done many story ballets, but for Giselle, he turns to a Royal Ballet version, produced by Peter Wright with costumes by Peter Farmer.

Celebrating Miami City Ballet's (MCB) 26th anniversary Palm Beach County season, Artist Circle — a members-only contingent of friends and benefactors — recently gathered for a post-performance reception in the Kravis Center's Carl and Ruth Shapiro Founders Room. Underwritten by Frank Crystal & Company, more than 100 guests mingled and enjoyed Champagne and a dessert buffet. MCB Palm Beach liaison Philip Neal extended his appreciation to the Palm Beach community for their continued support as the company's leading South Florida audience.

The evening promised to be magic, and from the first moment Mikhail Baryshnikov stepped on stage in American Ballet Theatre`s performance of Giselle, it was. The occasion of Baryshnikov`s return to dancing for the first time since knee surgery was reason enough for the air of expectancy that filled the sold-out Theater of the Performing Arts Tuesday night. But there was also the debut of a new young Giselle, which can make for an auspicious occasion. In the title role, 22-year-old Alessandra Ferri, while not a certifiable overnight sensation, did show she is a dancer of remarkable dramatic ability, poignant lyricism and great potential.

Eyes cast down, hands crossed near their hearts as if shielding a wound, the Wilis scuttle to form a barrier. Ethereal but relentless as commandos, these spirits of wronged maidens have danced a man to death and now prepare to repeat that grim task, mandated by their crusading leader. The holier devotion of a new recruit, however, will foil the mission. Though in rehearsal gear and under the bright lights of a cavernous Miami City Ballet studio, the young women going through these paces in the second act of Giselle evoke creatures of a haunted, mist-shrouded forest.

Giselle, the great Romantic ballet with hallmark choreography to an effusive Adolphe Adam score, crosses from one region of ardor into another, tracing a country girl's fall for Albrecht, a noble out for a fling among the rustics. For the second time in its history, Miami City Ballet brought this work, which can seal a company's reputation and lay laurels on the leads, to the Jackie Gleason Theater. With an orchestra conducted by Clotilde Otranto, the production, as restaged by Iliana Lopez, reconfirmed that the Balanchine-based troupe is able to give a 19th century classic reasonable vitality.

It is sadly ironic that Rudolf Nureyev still chooses to dance the role of Albrecht in Giselle. The second act of the ballet peripherally tells the story of a man doomed to dance to death until a young girl steps in to save him. Undoubtedly, some who watched Nureyev in Miami Tuesday night might have been blissfully unaware that they were seeing a dancer who, at 47, no longer has the technical ability to dance the role. Such is the magic of a legend. But for many, the pathos of watching one of the greatest dancers of all time use sheer force of will to get through a performance was at times unbearable.

Overall, it's hard to imagine a more pleasing cast for Giselle among Miami City Ballet dancers than the matinee offering at the Broward Center on Saturday. In the title role, Katia Carranza brought freshness to the first act and soul to the second; as her suitor Albrecht, Luis Serrano showed schooling as well as great feeling; and Didier Bramaz sharply personified jealous obsession as their antagonist, Hilarion. The ensemble spread sunshine in the village and made a beautiful mystery of the shadows in the forest.

More than 100 people joined Boca Ballet Theatre on July 30 at The Atlantic Grille at the Seagate Hotel and Spa for an après following the opening night performance of "Giselle". E. Anthony Wilson graciously hosted the gala event at his new boutique hotel restaurant and provided hors d'oeuvres prepared especially for the celebrating crowd. "The event provided a wonderful opportunity to celebrate our sold-out performances of 'Giselle' and to thank our sponsor, Madelyn Savarick," said Boca Ballet Theatre's co-artistic director Dan Guin.

The Boca Ballet Theatre recently gave several area performances of the classical ballet "Giselle. " About 30 students enrolled in the theater's five-week summer program danced on the University Stage at Florida Atlantic University with Julie Kent and Marcelo Gomes, visiting international stars from the American Ballet Theatre in New York City. "It was actually really surreal," Aubrey Heathcott, 17, said of the experience. "I'm so fortunate to have this opportunity to dance with them.

Boca Ballet Theatre Guild's Through the Looking Glass Fashion Show and Tea recently raised $7,000 to support Boca Ballet Theatre's tutu fund. The event, which took place at the Quail Ridge Country Club in Boynton Beach , included an array of raffle baskets, a silent auction, a trunk show, an English-style afternoon tea and fashion show. Students dressed in Alice in Wonderland costumes greeted guests. The silent auction included artwork by local artist Patricia Boyd, a Johnny Depp autographed photograph, and a two-week junior golf camp certificate.

Boca Ballet slates season events Boca Ballet Theatre has announced its 2009-10 season. All performances will be at FAU's University Theatre, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton. The season will feature "The Nutcracker" (Nov. 27-29), the mixed repertory dance concert "Spring Serenade" (March 27 and 28) and the romantic, supernatural ballet "Giselle" (July 30 to Aug. 1). Season tickets are $70 for all three performances. Individual tickets are $35 adults and $25 children and seniors. Call 561-995-0709 or visit www.bocaballet .org.

Did you notice anything familiar about Enchanted? Disney's new live-action/animated comedy is earning rave reviews for its unconventional tale about a cartoon princess named Giselle who is cast out of her kingdom by an evil queen only to find herself in real-world New York. But the offbeat romance - starring Amy Adams; Susan Sarandon; James Marsden as Giselle's animated beau, Prince Edward; and Patrick Dempsey as her real-life Prince Charming - doesn't completely break with tradition. The film is chock-full of winking nods to classic Disney films.

Overall, it's hard to imagine a more pleasing cast for Giselle among Miami City Ballet dancers than the matinee offering at the Broward Center on Saturday. In the title role, Katia Carranza brought freshness to the first act and soul to the second; as her suitor Albrecht, Luis Serrano showed schooling as well as great feeling; and Didier Bramaz sharply personified jealous obsession as their antagonist, Hilarion. The ensemble spread sunshine in the village and made a beautiful mystery of the shadows in the forest.

EVENING NEWS. Marly Swick. Little, Brown and Company. $23. 368 pp. This is a heartbreaking book. First, for the subject, the accidental shooting death of a toddler. Second, because the author starts out so well, then goes so wrong. Reading Evening News is like watching a sensitive, intelligent person slowly fall apart. Evening News opens with a story you see in the newspapers too often: Nine-year-old Teddy is playing with his best friend. Eric finds the handgun his father bought, aims it like a TV cop, then hands the toy-sized gun to Teddy.